How Your Vote Can Help Stop Ventura’s $1.4B Water Rate Hikes

WATER: THE NEVER-ENDING STORY FOR VREG

For several months, faithful readers have asked what happened to VREG. Your questions helped prompt this newsletter—thank you for your continued support.

For 20 years, VREG has walked a fine line: reporting on the “responsible and efficient” use of Ventura taxpayers’ dollars without becoming overly opinionated. And, while we have not always succeeded, time has proven many of our warnings right.

Over the past five years, VREG has published dozens of articles tracking Ventura’s water policy. The story rarely changed, and repeating the same points grew monotonous even for us: escalating costs met by a City Council majority unwilling to rein in spending or alter course. Unchecked, this project will ultimately exceed $1.4 billion.

What Can Change Ventura’s Water Policy? You Can.

The Unrelenting Push to $1 Billion

What started in 2014 as a $55 million project has now ballooned past $500 million without the $300 million Membrane Bioreactor. with total lifecycle costs projected to exceed $1.4 billion.

VREG has consistently proposed realistic paths to mitigate these astronomical costs. Yet, successive City Councils have refused to rein in spending, leaving local ratepayers to shoulder the burden.

What the City Believes

The Mandate: Ventura has pursued the VenturaWaterPure project primarily to satisfy a 2012 environmental consent decree. The city’s sole justification for this project stems from its strict interpretation of that decree.
Heavy Commitment: Over the past 12 years, the city has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to this single path.
Grant Limitations: While the city obtained or will obtain $155 federal grants and 174 million low-interest loans to help soften the blow, these subsidies cover only 24% of the total project cost.

What Has Never Been Reconciled

Sufficient Traditional Supply: Those 2025 figures demonstrated that Ventura’s traditional water sources alone provide sufficient supply to navigate severe drought cycles. Furthermore, residents have successfully cut water consumption by 35% since 2000 through ongoing conservation.
Unnecessary Capacity at Excessive Cost: VenturaWaterPure promises to add an extra 20% capacity to Ventura’s supply—capacity that state-mandated conservation targets mean we may rarely need. Yet, project estimates have jumped from $375 million in 2022 to over $670 million today to comply with the Consent Decree.
Soaring Rate Hikes: To fund this, average household water and wastewater bills will increase by 16% annually through 2031. A typical monthly bill of $118 today will surpass $173 in 2031 and $293 in 2036. This is without adding bonds to the costs of your water.
Hidden Revenue Tax Bonds: Rate increases alone will not cover the bill. Ventura Water will need to float $375 million in revenue bonds to fund the remaining deficit. City officials acknowledge these bonds are necessary but have yet to reveal the exact figure.